Playscapes

 

They're not all the same.

Visit #1610, Sunday 26 July 26, 6:15-9:35 a.m., 5.3 miles, 4.3 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the low 70s, sunny and dry.

In a previous post I commented and posted a photo about playscapes of yore versus today, where the children are protected from injury and the cities from lawsuits.

In a recent edition of The Economist magazne, I read Scandinavia has a different take on playscapes. It's a funny and interesting read, reprinted below. If you're computer savvy you can enlarge the article to make it easier to read.

Hubbard Park is MY playscape; sharp tools, tick bites, snakes, paint mess, and other potential harm aligns me closer to Scandinavia than America. In fact, I sorta look like the kid in the article above, after my hikes.

Last week I noticed some duplicate graffiti on the I-691 walkbridge. I was not able to remove all of it then so this week I came equipped to do so.

Enroute to the walkbridge I found this tag from national parks literature, and it was apparently addressed to me.

Ironically, the backside of the tag suggests volunteering at a park, which is somewhat contradictory to leaving things like this lying trailside. I do appreciate being recognized for my work, however.

At the walkbridge I found Cat Graffiti #38 since November 2016.

Before getting down to painting, I removed it.

As to the graffiti painting; I was not paying attention. Last week I pointed out the wax pencil tag was a duplicate of a spray painted tag at the far end of the walkbridge. What I noticed this week was the same tag was at the bollard end of the bridge as well. Compare them and see if you agree. I set up and went to work on both.

Incidentally, I weighed my backpack today after a conversation with a hiker got me curious. Today's load was a whopping 30.3 lbs.!

I was heading up to West Peak today. Nearing the top I encountered a wood frog who was patient enough to pose for me.

I hiked down a trail that led to the apparent logging project that's going on so I could confirm my suspicions.

I did find more tags and trees marked.

At the bottom I found a bag of trash.

I'm sure this trash belongs to the logger not because of all the Dunkin' cups and empty energy drink containers but because of the empty container of hydraulic fluid.

Since I found all this some distance from their equipment, I relocated everything closer so they would not forget to remove it.

Exiting the trail, I found new graffiti on the street sign. I've removed graffiti from this sign before.

The wax pencil proved tougher than my on-hand remedies and in the process I was removing the black paint. I found this tag in several other locations today. I plan to return next week to my playscape ready to play hardball.

Back In The Saddle

 

Visit #1609, Sunday 19 July 26, 6:05-9:15 a.m, 4.9 miles, 17.0 lbs. of litter. 

Temps in the low 70s, sunny, dry, and breezy, after late Saturday and overnight rain.

Thanks to those astute readers of my blog who noticed something might be wrong with my health and tracked me down while I had a brief stay at MidState Medical Center and spa.

Those who called seemed to be more worried that I pay off my loans to them before I died, but their phone calls were still appreciated. 😏

If you must know, I had an outbreak of Good Looks and Charm. I know when it happens because all sorts of strangers and paparazzi will start following me, and love letters from all types will appear in my mailbox. The only solution is to hide away in the hospital where only those concerned with getting their money back will make the effort to track me down.

I'm on the mend now, and medication is returning me to my normal boring and ugly self except for the time being I am moving a bit slower. This week I wanted to test my recovery on the same route I abandoned last week.

Our Birch Tree Bandit continues to adorn said tree with stickers and tchotchkes. I even remove the nails and they keep reappearing.

Further up the trail, this storm damage happened this week because the trail was clear last week. It was easily removed.

The Birch Tree Bandit is responsible for this sticker as well. I put it in my pocket for later review but somehow lost it.

I wanted to save it because it's difficult to read what else he has written on it. It calls me "Sticker Peeler" multiple times and tells me to "grease this pole too", assuming I've treated other promising sticker spots with something to deter sticker pasting.

Why would I do that and where would I come up with such an idea?! 😉

Now on the walkbridge I spotted and removed some new graffiti.

It was easily removed.

But pay attention; compare the above with what I found on the opposite end of the I-691 walkbridge and you'll notice they are from the same person. That is, if you're Dr. Louise Banks (Amy Adams) and in the habit of deciphering alien language.

I'll work on the latter next week.

At the Beehive Fountain I found a purse, but it was empty.

The next trail I went up featured a stand of wild raspberries. Unfortunately, they were overtaking the trail so I had to trim them back, just as they were ripening. Sorry.

Stickers seemed to be the theme of the day because as I reached the road to East/West Peak I found several more on this post. They all referred to voting, mail-in voting, and mail carriers.

I must not have greased this pole as they were difficult to remove UNTIL I applied my magic potion and some elbow ahem, grease.

Walking down the road I found this hoodie.

Such an uplifting message! Yeah; that's what I wanna wear to meet my girlfriend's parents...

Further down the road I found a slew of beer cans and bottles, all Corona or Modelo.

But as you can see I found three that were unopened. I'm not a beer drinker but if I were, and when I smelled the contents as emptied the bottles, I would definitely rethink my taste for beer. Now I know where the term "warm piss" comes from because that's what it smelled like. And what kind of person throws out perfectly good bottles of beer except someone too drunk to know what they're doing!

In a past blog entry I pondered whether some blue ribbons I found on trees were possible indications of a soon to be logging project. It appears I'm right.

Questions remain - is this a parks department project or a water department project? Is this on Hubbard Park land or watershed land? I ask because in 2000 or 2001 I participated with a group of people in getting a logging project in Hubbard Park stopped because it impacted those who hike and recreate in Hubbard Park. I'm trying to get answers.

Another reason I wanted to hike down the road this week was to see if my unfinished tree removal on the road was completed by other parties. I'm pleased to say it was.

I hope to get uglier and more boring as my meds take effect, and able to hike longer, at a quicker pace.

Until then, maintain.

A Quickie

 Visit #1608, Sunday 12 July 26, 6:10-7:25 a.m., 1.8 miles, 3.6 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the low 70s, sunny with moderate humidity.

Mysterious medical symptoms kept me from hiking any meaningful distances and putting a dent in my plans. I hope to have an answer this week. But I still managed some meaningful work.

While driving east on I-691 earlier this week I spied a banner hanging from the I-691 walkbridge. I intended to remove it.

Enroute to the walkbridge I passed by the birch tree which is a popular place for our park's vandal to post things, such as this refrigerator magnet.

The previous occurrence of this sticker on this tree was in June. 

At the walkbridge, I found whoever installed the banner was very professional, using stainless wire and quality crimps. I was impressed, even though I was annoyed. This took effort and brains.

I used muscle and basic tools to remove it.

And the banner? Well...

My research concludes the phrase "We The People" combined with the thirteen stars and "1776" is commonly associated with extreme right leanings hiding behind a cloak of patriotism.

That's all for this week. Hopefully I have good answers for my poor health by next week's blog.

My Fever Broke

 

Indeed, the feverish heatwave of the past several days eased this morning. But as you'll see, I still broke. I have my limits!

Visit #1607, Sunday 5 July 26, 7:25-11:05 a.m. 4.3 miles, 3.5 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the low 70s, cloudy with high humidity after a week of heatwave conditions.

I planned to follow the road around Merimere Reservoir and up to West Peak.

Reaching the north end of the reservoir, I found these two teenagers illegally fishing. How do I know they were teenagers - the one on the left was wearing a Platt Panthers t-shirt. I think they got spooked by my presence and moved to another location because I was picking up litter on the trap rock shore and getting too close to them.

I give them credit for getting up early to be fishing at 8 a.m.  Points deducted for illegal fishing.

But they weren't the only ones fishing.

This jeep belonged to another pair of young men fishing on the reservoir as well.

The two teenagers above - later, when I returned to the park via the north end gate, a woman in a vehicle was blocking my access. I politely asked her to move her vehicle when she explained she was there to pick up her son who was fishing there. Her son turned out to be Platt Panther boy or his buddy, as they came traipsing by. What timing!

Anyway, I continued walking up the road but didn't get too far beyond the reservoir.

I wasn't about to fight my way through that, so I turned around and followed the road back to the park.

Along the way I noticed the Japanese Knotweed which was sprayed and cut down just a few weeks ago has grown back with a vengeance. When they say it's tough to get rid of, they aren't kidding.

One thing was for sure; people weren't going to reach Castle Craig or West Peak today with that tree across the road.

So I drove home, packed my gear, and returned to the tree.

Using loppers and my chainsaw, I laid the tree naked.

It was almost 10:00 a.m. when I started, and with the gate open, cars started showing up. But they all got the hint and turned around without an argument. A couple people asked when I might be finished and I asked they give me a couple hours. Fact is, it only took one hour to complete. 

Well, I PLANNED to complete the job until...

Actually, TWO snakes slithered out of that knothole, one much smaller than the one you see. I don't know where the small one went but the one in the photo didn't move a scale for over ten minutes!

Here's my theory why:

The snake laid its eggs in that knothole and was protecting them. Or they had already hatched hence where the little one came from.

And here are some facts about snakes: If the snake lays eggs, the eggs are called a "clutch". If the snake gives live birth, the babies are called a "brood". Newly hatched snake eggs are called "hatchlings" while the individual live birth snake babies are called "snakelets". While pondering what to do I came up with the names "snakettes" or, apologies to all you pasta lovers, "snaketini". 

 Since the larger snake wasn't moving a muscle I'm guessing they were ready to defend something. Regardless of whether I could have done business on it with my chainsaw, I'm not that kind of guy, so I left the job incomplete. I feel bad. At least cars can pass by.

Click on the photo to get a better view and you can see the snake still sitting at the knot. I could have swept up the debris but with cars occasionally approaching I didn't want to take any more time blocking the road. Of course, the guardrail took a drubbing, too.

I'll leave the completion of the job to the parks department. It shouldn't take long EXCEPT for the snake factor.

I've got to leave you this week with what else but, Frank Zappa's tune, Baby Snakes!

Beatin' The Heatin'

 

The weather is about to ramp up, just in time for the July 4th holiday. Learn to stay cool like these geese.

Visit #1606, Sunday 28 June 26, 6:15-8:35 a.m., 4.9 miles, 5.2 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the 60s rising to the mid-80s, sunny and increasing humidity today, and throughout the week.

It's gonna get ugly.

An early start to my hike mitigated some of the sticky misery. Just some.

I stopped at the south end of Merimere Reservoir to pick up some litter and found the remains of a campfire. I even found the plastic wrap from the firewood they purchased.

And if you're going to have a campfire, you can't forget the marshmallows.

This week I brought another bottle of weed killer and treated the Orange Trail as it leads up to Castle Craig.

Prior to reaching the Orange Trail I came upon a newly fallen tree on the main trail.

You're probably getting tired of hearing me say this, but I just love this folding saw that I now carry with me. It's light, small, and effective in situations like this. I couldn't move this tree by myself so this tree would have had to wait until another weekend to return with my chainsaw.

I took in the view from the bench at Castle Craig then hiked a trail down toward the reservoir.

Along with the tranquility of the deep woods, I encountered a deer as it crossed my path.

Walking on the road back to the park I found this small tree sticking into the road just a smidge. I trimmed things back a bit.

Sweaty enough to want a shower and a change of clothes, I finished my hike.

Enjoy the coming holiday and if you're lucky, the extra day off from work.

Meriden will host its fireworks display on Thursday, along with other festivities. If my experience today is any indication, I suggest bringing insect repellent.